COVID-19 and the Workplace: What California Employees Need to Know - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
COVID-19 and the Workplace: What California Employees Need to Know MARCH 26, 2020 3/26/2020 Presented by Ranked among the top 100 law firms in the country, Cozen OConnor has more than 750 attorneys in 28 cities across two continents. We
MARCH 26, 2020
3/26/2020
Ranked among the top 100 law firms in the country, Cozen O’Connor has more than 750 attorneys in 28 cities across two
recognized practices in labor and employment law, litigation, business law, and government relations, and our attorneys have experience operating in all sectors of the economy.
www.cozen.com
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Questions? Type your question by using the Q&A chat pod and they will be answered as time allows. CLE CLE is approved in CA, PA, NY, TX and IL.
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Michele Ballard Miller Walter Stella Elena Hillman
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California’s Statewide Order - https:/covid19.ca.gov/img/Executive-Order-N-33-20
activities such as grocery shopping, visiting pharmacies and exercise as long as people maintain a safe social distancing space of six feet.*
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In addition to the Governor’s Executive Order - Municipalities have issued their own
San Francisco
Business Closures in Los Angeles
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Business Closures in San Diego
close.
Other California Measures
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The Department of Homeland Security issued guidance to support State, Local and industry partners in identifying the critical infrastructure sectors and the essential workers needed to maintain the services and functions needed to operate resiliently during the COVID-19 pandemic response
https://www.cisa.gov/publication/guidance-essential-critical-infrastructure-workforce
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focus on core business activities. In-person, non-mandatory activities should be delayed until the resumption of normal operations.
enlist strategies to reduce the likelihood of spreading the disease. This includes, but is not limited to, separating staff by off-setting shift hours or days and/or social distancing. These steps can preserve the workforce and allow operations to continue.
documentation that they can have on their person if stopped or questioned by authorities.
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lack of work. The layoff may be temporary (e.g., caused by seasonal or adverse economic conditions) or permanent. Separated employees are typically able to collect unemployment benefits.
the employee’s employment is not terminated but employees are placed on an unpaid leave while the business is closed indefinitely or until a date
exclude some employees who provide essential services.
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Pre-Layoff Planning Considerations: Have alternatives to a layoff been considered, such as:
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WARN Act Federal WARN – No Changes California WARN
the COVID-19 pandemic.*
must provide written notice of the layoff.
temporarily, you may be eligible for Unemployment Insurance (UI). More information on UI and
More information available at: https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/WARN-FAQs.html
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employees can file an Unemployment Insurance (UI) claim.
job or have their hours reduced, through no fault of their own.
to work with their employer within a few weeks, are not required to actively seek work each week. However, they must remain able and available and ready to work during their unemployment for each week of benefits they claim and meet all other eligibility criteria. If eligible, benefits can range from $40-$450 per week.
workers can collect UI benefits for the first week they are out of work.
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70% of wages, up to $1,300 per week.
an ill or quarantined family member.
hours reduced in response to COVID-19
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San Francisco Paid Sick Leave
2020 guidance.
unreasonable.
sick leave taken pursuant to the Paid Sick Leave Ordinance during the duration of the Local Health Emergency regarding Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019. More information available at: https://sfgov.org/olse/san-francisco-paid-sick-leave- coronavirus-0
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Los Angeles Paid Sick Leave
described by the Centers for Disease Control,
business operations,
More information available at: https://wagesla.lacity.org/sites/g/files/wph471/f/PSLCOVID20200318.pdf
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Emeryville Paid Sick Leave
accrued sick leave in the following situations:
More information available at: (https://www.ci.emeryville.ca.us/DocumentCenter/View/12679/Emeryville-PSL- GuidanceCoronavirus-final
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telework due to their need to care for a child if the child’s school or child care facility is closed or the child’s care provider is unavailable due to a public health emergency.
substitute available accrued sick or vacation time for the unpaid leave period
employee’s regular rate for the number of hours the employee would normally be scheduled to work.
Pay under this section is limited to $200 per day and $10,000 in aggregate for the employee
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Leave at the employee’s regular rate to employees who cannot work or telework because they are:
(1) Quarantined or ordered to self-isolate by health authorities or a health care provider due to COVID- 19, (2) Experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis, (3) Caring for an individual (note: this does not need to be a family member) who is ordered or advised to self-isolate due to COVID-19, (4) Caring for their child whose school or child care facility is closed or whose childcare provider is unavailable due to a COVID-19 public health emergency, or (5) Experiencing a substantially similar condition as specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Paid sick leave wages are limited to $511 per day up to $5,100 total per employee due to the employee’s own quarantine, isolation or symptoms, and to $200 per day up to $2,000 total to care for others.
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On March 24, 2020, the Department of Labor provided additional guidance on the FFCRA issuing the following:
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losses incurred by the employee” in the course of the employee’s job, as well as for any expenses arising
This question is likely to be implicated if employees are asked to work from home. Employers should be careful to delineate between necessary expenses and other expenses that may not be necessary. For example, a portion of required technology expenses associated with work-required internet and phone usage, printing, faxing, etc. would require reimbursement, but expenses related to costs associated with meal times likely are not “necessary” even if an employer regularly provides employees with complimentary meals as part of their job. Employers should draft a clear statement of what will be considered necessary expenses for reimbursement purposes and that also allows employees to raise concerns about expenses that do not appear on the employer’s list that employees feel should be reimbursable. Employers can then assess expense requests as necessary.
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shutdown of operations?
are not permitted. If an exempt employee works any portion of a day, there can be no deduction from salary for a partial day absence for personal or medical reasons. Note: Employers should be aware that if an employer’s operations are not halted but instead just slowed and, as a result, an exempt employee’s job duties are altered during the pandemic and the employee’s “primary duties” for any one workweek are more properly classified as non-exempt, then that employee should be considered non-exempt for the week. This status change will result in the employee having a right to meal and rest periods and being subject to overtime pay as any non-exempt employee.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, employers who ask or permit their nonexempt employees to work remotely will need to take steps to properly track and record the “hours worked” by these employees to minimize risks of overtime and missed meal and rest break claims under federal and state wage and hour laws. Employers should put into place clear policies and rules regarding teleworking that set forth the employer’s standard working hours, time reporting (including clocking in and out) and recordkeeping requirements, and that make clear employees are still subject to the employer’s meal and rest period requirements and overtime rules while working from home.
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https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/guidance-business- response.html https://www.eeoc.gov/facts/pandemic_flu.html https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa/pandemic
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pace ever seen in America. New laws are being implemented hourly.
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COVID-19 in the California Workplace: The First 90 Days April 2, 2020 Register: Discrimination and Harassment: New Decade, New Frontiers, New Protections – Are You Ready? April 29, 2020 Register: https://www.cozen.com/events/2020/discrimination-and-harassment-new-decade- new-frontiers-new-protections-are-you-ready-
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